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In Buddhism, holding on is considered the root of human suffering. When we hold on - whether we hold on to something and push it away, pull it toward, or even hold on in order to ignore - tension is generated. We feel stressed, anxious, edgy. We suffer.

My daughter put together an interesting history project recently. As part of their twentieth century overview, her class was looking at the stretch 1910-1919. Each student was given an aspect of this span to present upon; her focus was popular music.

Completing a program typically initiates a time of transition for me. Whether I am returning from Crestone or Salt Spring Island, whether it’s Sutrayana Foundation Yana or Sutrayana Mahayana that has just ended, an event’s conclusion often opens a state of being in which I really don’t know.

I enjoyed a short exchange with a friend not long ago. This is someone I have not seen in a while, but whose company was always rich and rewarding. Our back and forth took place via a series of email exchanges. At the bottom of all of her notes were a number of links; one of these took me to her blog.

My initial impetus was self-centred. I was tired of how out of date my old website felt. Sure that site had served it’s purpose well at one point. It was now more than ten years old, however; much had changed. Even after considerable revamp and alteration, the old neilmckinlay.com - with its swimming-oriented background and its broad, careful language - no longer reflected what I was doing.